HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

Building and Developing the Right Teams

While nearly every business touts its incredible culture—whether it’s good or otherwise—multifamily organizations generally do very well on the culture meter because it’s such a people-first business. That makes for good competition, but it also means companies have to get creative to stand out in such a culture-centric industry. From utilizing a strengths-based approach, looking beyond the industry for ideas to incentivizing associates to become your best recruiting allies, various operators shared some of their secrets for attracting and attaining high-level associates—and keeping them happy and engaged. 

Read the article by Paul Willis in Multifamily Executive

How Smart Home Tech Can Mitigate Disaster

How many disasters could have been avoided if only you’d known that they were coming? Well, smart home technology often enables that capability. Leak detection, for instance, can prevent minor damage in most situations and curb a full-blown flood in others. Data indicates that 43% of communities will experience a leak of some sort, and it takes an average of 84 days for the community to first detect the leak. While many are minor and easy fixes, neglect can lead to a bevy of additional challenges. Additionally, smart thermostats not only control the temperature in homes, but also have built-in technology to detect moisture and alert teams to potentially damaging damp conditions. 

Read the article by Demetrios Barnes on The Multifamily Journal

Self-Guided Tours Best Practices

As apartment operators scrambled to adopt self-guided tour technology last year, a few critical considerations were skipped in the hasty rollout. Now that things have stabilized, operators can use more of a measured approach to make certain to address everything. That includes bolstering security measures, enhancing visual elements, controlling the tour content and including the onsite team in the tour development process. Operators can also spend more time optimizing the leasing process to target key demographics and gain an astute understanding of local laws regarding data use. 

Read the article by Morgan Dzak in UNITS Magazine

IN THE NEWS

FHFA Extends Eviction Moratorium to September

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) extended the eviction moratorium for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily properties until September. The moratorium was set to expire at the end of June. The moratorium was extended, despite declining Covid-19 cases, to assist families still struggling to pay their rent and to help property owners maintain their properties. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium is still set to expire at the end of June, though it has already been extended multiple times and challenged in court. The CDC moratorium may still wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving property management operators in a holding pattern. 

Read Les Shaver’s story on GlobeSt.com

Labor Issues Continue for Property Managers

The sentiment of multifamily builders and developers has reached its highest mark in seven quarters, according to the National Prior to the pandemic, apartment managers were battling for onsite talent. With unemployment rates now back below 6% and enhanced unemployment benefits still in place, operators are facing new labor issues. People have been slow to return to work, and property managers have been forced to hike wages significantly in order to attract hourly employees. Some companies are leaning heavily on automated and AI solutions to reduce their staffing needs, while others have developed career path programs to attract candidates. The pandemic’s grip is still felt at the hiring level, and eviction moratorium concerns, as well as the decision on when to safely bring associates back to the office, weigh heavily. 

Read Les Shaver’s story in UNITS Magazine

Supporting the Contactless Community

People have always wanted the ability to choose how they interact with staff in any industry, either directly or with little contact. However, the pandemic has made the choice much more prevalent in multifamily. There is contactless everything. For example, property tours, rent payments, maintenance needs and deliveries can all be facilitated and completed via technology, without any human interaction. In such a competitive market, it’s crucial for operators to provide residents and prospects with the options they’ve come to expect. And with the evolution of technology in the multifamily world, a number of solutions are available to help encourage contactless offerings.

Read Arian Adriano’s article in Multifamily Executive